Promise
by The World Is Alive
Summary: Mira chose to stay in the User world. Beck chose to stay on the Grid. They both chose a different life, but they don't realize just how difficult that choice is. Promises were meant to be made and broken. And Mira is about to learn this the hard way. Sequel to Freedom. Rated T for safety.
1. Chapter One

_No more fear, No more pain, No more stumbling by the way, No more longing for the day, Going to run no more - Going Home, Libera_

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**Chapter One**

Two days had passed. Two days since I decided to join SHIELD and take Fury's offer. Two days since I last saw Beck in person, and stopped by to see the Grid one last time.

In two days I was already bored out of my mind. SHIELD was offering a safety debriefing before I went on my first mission. And the other new recruits around me kept staring at me like I wasn't even from their world. Well, at this point I might as well not be.

For most of my life I lived in a place known as the Grid. Kevin Flynn had designed it to be a digital utopia, filled with life. But Clu, an almost exact copy of Flynn, turned on his Creator and nearly destroyed the Grid. He killed thousands of ISOs in his time as ruler. He killed a hundred more programs that fought back during the infamous Purge.

Clu had finally been taken down when Flynn's son Sam decided to investigate his father's disappearance. Flynn had ended up killing himself in the process though, along with destroying half of the Grid. Now Sam, Quorra, Tron and Beck were working together to rebuild what was left of a broken system. As for me?

I was stuck here, listening to some old guy prep us about safety briefs during missions. He was showing everyone a video about a mission going wrong.

"And that's why you should always stick with your partner during a mission," he concluded after the video came to an abrupt end.

"Is it true, what they say about you?" I tried not to roll my eyes as we started leaving the room. Thankfully the class didn't require books, so we left empty handed. The person speaking to me was a young man, probably in his early twenties.

"Is what true about me?" I retorted after fixing the gloves that wrapped around my hands. Every day I wore a pair of biker gloves that Tony had thankfully given me before I left. It was the easiest way to hide the scars that covered them. I had to wear a long-sleeved shirt and pants while out in public in order to keep people from gawking at me, but that didn't hide the scars on my face.

Long story short, when I lived on the Grid, I was captured by a program known as Rinzler. He was Clu's perfect soldier. Always did what Clu told him to, even if it meant derezzing another program. And he would take his frustration out on me while I was his prisoner. I always wondered why he never took me directly to Clu himself. Clu would have done far worse damage to me, being a User and all.

"I mean about you being_ their_ daughter and all," he replied after we reached the man entrance.

I stopped short at the mention of my birth parents. Technically he didn't mention their names. The more I thought about it, the more I had gotten used to it. They were master assassins, and I was training to become a SHIELD agent. But we did have more in common than I would like to know.

"What makes you think that?" I asked after taking a deep breath.

"It's just that... you look just like them," the new recruit said shakily.

"That's enough, Agent Marcus." The new recruit flinched when a new voice spoke up from behind us. "We already have a full report on her."

"Sorry Agent Coulson," Marcus replied sheepishly.

He immediately turned and made a run for the door, cheeks turning bright red. I tried not to laugh as I watched him leave. Somehow I couldn't picture a SHIELD agent acting that way.

"I'm sorry, about that," Agent Coulson added once he was gone. "Some of the newer agents tend to forget that asking questions isn't always a good idea."

"It's okay," I replied after studying him carefully. So this was the famous Phil Coulson. I remembered Natasha mentioning him more than once. Even Tony talked about him every now and than. But from the stories I'd heard, he was supposed to be dead. "Aren't you supposed to be..." I couldn't bring myself to say the word as he just stood there and smiled like an idiot.

"Dead?" he answered for me. I simply nodded in response. "It's a bit of a long story," he explained warily. "The Avengers can't know that I'm alive."

I had a feeling he would say that. Something told me there was more to that story than he let on. From what I heard, he was killed by Loki, Thor's brother. Natasha regarded him with respect, and even Clint had some kind of respect for him.

"They are right about you looking just like them," Agent Coulson added when an uncomfortable silence fell between us. "Minus the uh..." He cut himself off before he continued. I tried not to roll my eyes when I knew what he was about to say.

"I've lived with these for most of my life," I replied as calmly as I could. "I'm used to them."

Coulson's face paled when he realized what I meant by that. He quickly recovered and smoothed down his hair in embarrassment. "I'll be seeing you soon, miss Barton," he said in a quiet voice.

_I'd rather not be called by that name_, I tried yelling as he left the room. But I couldn't find the heart to say it out loud. It's not like I chose for Natasha and Clint to be my parents. It just happened out of the blue. And we found out quickly once I returned to the User world with Beck.

With a sigh of frustration, I turned towards the doors and made my way back to my apartment. The city itself was crawling with people as usual. I made a point to avoid them. I wasn't much of a social butterfly to begin with. Even on the Grid I didn't have much time hanging out with friends. There was always something to keep me busy.

Thankfully it didn't take me long to reach my apartment. It was only a few blocks away from Steve's, and right beside the gym I'd be visiting in a few hours. It was slightly reassuring to know that I'd be close to a friend. Well, Steve wasn't technically my friend. He was more like a big brother that watched my every move. Otherwise he'd receive death threats from Natasha and Clint.

Almost as soon as I opened the door I was tackled by Rinzler. I tried not to laugh as Rinzler purred and rubbed against my cheek. He's an black kitten mixed with red streaks in his fur. Back on the Grid those red streaks would have been red circuits. It was really the eyes that gave him away. Any normal User would realize that he wasn't from around here.

"What have you been up to?" I asked after getting up. Rinzler only tilted his head to one side before jumping off of my shoulder.

Beck still questioned me naming him after the guy that threatened my life. I don't know why I chose that name. Part of me realized that it wasn't Rinzler's fault he had become who he was. Clu was the one that had repurposed him into a killing machine. It was hard for me to stay angry with someone. Better to forgive and forget than let anger build until you're ready to take it out on them.

I pulled out my phone that once again Tony bought for me (he decided that he was going to act like the uncle I never wanted), and noticed that there was a missed call. With a sigh of frustration I didn't miss the fact that it was from Tony himself. Probably checking to see what it was like being a SHIELD agent.

"Hey kid, you got a minute?" I rolled my eyes when I listened to the message. Obviously I didn't. "Well, I need to chat with you about the Grid. Something's up, and you might wanna stop by Stark Tower on your way home." The message ended with a loud beep.

Something was up with the Grid? Somehow I had a feeling that wasn't a good thing. Gridbugs were still an ever present threat, and so were viruses. But Tron had already organized a team of programs to take care of them. So this must have been more serious.

"You stay here," I told Rinzler as he began to follow me. He only looked at me with those large red eyes and blinked. "I won't be long," I added after patting his head gently.

Warily, I glanced over my shoulder to make sure he didn't follow me after closing my door. Stark Tower wasn't far from here. A few blocks and I'd already be there. But the moment I stepped outside, I noticed that Tony was already waiting for me. In his Iron Man suit. The looks people gave him were priceless. As was the anger I began to feel towards him.

"I was wondering when you'd get back," Tony said after lifting his helmet. "You're late."

"Excuse me for having a meeting I had to attend," I snapped.

"Always a pleasure working with you too." Tony smirked and folded his arms. "You ready?"

I braced myself as he took flight. Wonder how Natasha and Clint would take this one. Going on a joy ride with Iron Man wasn't exactly on my list of things to do in the User world. But at least we would get to the tower faster this way. And the sooner I found out what was wrong, the better off I was.

. . .

Agent Coulson stood beside Director Fury as the pulled out the files on the team they were forming. Back at the Hub, everything was quiet. For now. Coulson knew that wouldn't last long when it came to peace. And Director Fury had already assigned him as leader of the new team to tackle threats that ordinary SHIELD agents couldn't.

"Sir, what about the girl?" Coulson asked after pulling out her file. The reports on her were impressive. She had already survived several near-fatal incidents. And she mastered several forms of martial arts due to her mentor's past experience.

"I'm not sure she's entirely qualified for this job," Fury replied.

"And Agent Ward is?" A smirk played along Coulson's mouth as Fury pinched the bridge of his nose. Grant Ward was more of a wild card than Hawkeye. Made the master archer look like a saint. But Coulson did have a point.

"If_ they_ find out, it's on your head," Fury muttered as he walked out of the room.

Coulson didn't even flinch at the remark. He knew all too well what they were capable of. He had fought alongside them many times. And now he would get to see what their daughter was capable of. The smirk widened slightly at the thought. He was looking forward to that.

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**AN: So here's the beginning of Promise. It's going to be a ten-part story, and it will be a tie-in with Agents of SHIELD. If you haven't seen that show, than there will be spoilers for it :P It is also a sequel to Different, Rogue and Freedom. So I highly recommend you read those in order before reading this. Just thought I'd put that in there.**

**It's also going to be a bit different from my other works. Mira's point of view will be in first person, while the rest will be in second person. Hope you don't find that too confusing /= Anywho, please let me know what you thought of this chapter.**

**PS: Have I mentioned that I got to chat with Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson) on Twitter twice already? Love him!**

**End of Line**


	2. Chapter Two

_High up in the blue sky, Wings of hope are spreading wide, A white dove is dancing , Flying free and happily, White dove, White dove, Flying higher and higher - White Dove Fly High, Casting Crowns_

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**Chapter Two**

Tony went to work immediately once we reached Stark Tower. I was surprised to see Pepper with him, hands on her hips as she glared at him.

"Tony, we were supposed to be at that board meeting an hour ago," Pepper sighed as he pulled out a gadget of some kind. "Hi Mira," she added after noticing me standing there.

"Hi... sorry about this," I replied, half embarrassed that Tony wasn't even supposed to be here. Kind of suspected something like this would happen. Tony wasn't exactly the most responsible person in the world. I supposed that's why Pepper was there to watch over him. Without her he'd be a lost mess.

"Don't be sorry, be happy!" Tony's remark made me roll my eyes as he handed me the device. "Now, this wasn't entirely a serious situation about the Grid, but I think you'll like what I've invented."

I raised an eyebrow as I tapped the button he was pointing to. To my surprise, a screen pulled out, revealing an image of the Grid. I stared at the device in disbelief when I realized that the Grid was much brighter and more welcoming than I remembered.

"What... is this?" I demanded when I noticed that in the distance, there were programs wandering in a nearby city.

"This is happening in real time mode," Tony explained with the widest grin I'd ever seen. "You see, with Tron's permission of course, I managed to rig the place up so you can chat with your old pals from the Grid."

My heart nearly skipped a beat at the thought of seeing Beck again. While I couldn't go back to the Grid (at least not without a valid reason), I would still be able to see him.

"You didn't have to do this," I sighed after turning the screen off.

"Actually I did," Tony replied with a smirk. "Think of it as an early Christmas present."

"Thank you." I looked away, half embarrassed when I noticed that he was grinning like an idiot. Again. I didn't miss Pepper's look of confusion as she tried to understand what was going on. How much had Tony told her about the Grid? She probably already knew about it's existence, otherwise she wouldn't be with us. "I should erm, probably get going," I added while rubbing my arms sheepishly.

"Do you need a lift?" Pepper raised an eyebrow as she glanced between me and glared at Tony. I quickly accepted her offer. After having to cling on to the Iron Man suit for dear life, I wasn't looking forward to another flight. Besides, there was only so much Tony Stark I could take in one day.

"We'll be back in Malibu for the next few weeks," Tony added before we left.

It took me a few second to remember that this wasn't Tony's original home. His office was actually in Malibu, California. And of course it was right next to the beach. I've never even seen the ocean aside from a few pictures I'd looked at.

Unless you count the Sea of Simulation from the Grid as the ocean. But that was totally different.

"Thanks, again," I murmured. Tony didn't normally hand out gifts to random people. So I really was thankful for everything he had given me. But something told me that in the long run, I'd owe him. Hopefully he didn't think that far ahead.

. . .

"What does S.H.I.E.L.D. stand for, Agent Ward?" Agent Hill was standing in a room, interrogating an agent that had just returned from his latest mission. He looked flustered as he tried to figure out why he was called back from a successful mission.

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." His reply was blunt and to the point. Everyone knew that. And if they didn't, they would learn quickly.

"And what does that mean to you?" Agent Hill folded her arms as she studied Grant's expression.

To be honest, it was Agent Coulson who had called him in. She was the one initiating the interrogation though. Had to make sure Grant was ready for the shock of his life.

"It means someone really wanted our initials to spell out "shield." It means we're the line between the world and the much weirder world. We protect people from news they aren't ready to hear. And when we can't do that, we keep them safe." Grant furrowed his eyebrow after saying that.

Agent Hill had a sly grin as she stepped aside. This was going better than she'd expected.

"The battle of the New York was the end of the world. This - now - is the new world. People are different. They have access to tech, to formula, secrets they're not ready for." What she said next caught Grant off guard.

Normally he was ready for anything. That was what he had been trained for. But now he could see that Agent Hill was testing his nerves as well as his frustration.

"Why was I pulled out of Paris?" This time it was Agent Hill's turn to look surprised. She recovered from her posture and looked down at him, eyes narrowed.

"You've heard about the Grid, haven't you?" She countered his question with a question of her own.

Grant looked at her in surprise before staring at the padded walls. He'd heard rumors about the Grid for the last few days. Two people had appeared from the Grid, catching everyone off guard. But that wasn't even the most shocking news.

"Yeah, I've heard about it," he replied. "But that hasn't answered my previous question."

Amusement played along Agent Hill's face as she locked gazes with him. "That, you have to ask Agent Coulson," she replied.

This time Grant raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Uh, yeah. I'm clearance Level Six. I know that... Agent Coulson was killed in action before the battle of New York. Got the full report." Again Agent Hill only smirked in response.

"Welcome to Level Seven." Grant's eyes widened as Agent Coulson stepped out from the corner of the room. "Sorry, that corner was really dark, I couldn't help myself. I think there's a bulb out."

"What does this have to do with the Grid?" Grant stumbled over his words as he struggled to keep his composure. Either he was seeing things or this was a really strange dream.

"I was hoping you might be able to answer that one," Agent Coulson replied with the slightest of smirks. "You know who the girl is." He passed over the files he was hiding.

If Grant was sitting down, he might have fallen over in shock. He preferred working alone, not with partners or a team. But after seeing the picture Coulson just showed him, curiosity got the better of him. She looked exactly like them, minus the scars etched along her face.

"Agent Hill did a very detailed assessment of your last three missions. Combat, top grades. Espionage, she gave you the highest marks since Romanoff. Under people skills she drew a... I think it's a little poop, with knives sticking out of it," Coulson went on after Grant passed the files back.

"What?" Grant stared at Coulson in disbelief, while Agent Hill looked like she was ready to smack him across the back of his head.

"That's bad right?" Coulson frowned as Grant left the room, arms flailing in frustration.

"It was a porcupine. It was not a poop. It just means he..." Agent Hill pinched the bridge of her nose as Coulson turned the files around to get a better look.

"No, I'm pretty sure... Oh." Agent Hill simply sighed in frustration and followed Grant out of the room. This was going to be tougher than he'd originally thought.

. . .

We were both still laughing as Pepper followed me out of the car. In truth she was really a good person. Unlike Tony she had good people skills. She knew how to handle a serious situation, and she was friendly towards strangers when she needed to be. She reminded me a lot of Quorra in a way.

Quorra's an ISO that I befriended back on the Grid. Long story short, she helped save me from Rinzler, than we went our separate ways. After I returned to the User world with Beck, I found out that she was now Sam Flynn's girlfriend. Funny how things like that work out.

"Thanks again for the ride," I said after unlocking the door to my apartment. We had stopped for lunch before returning to my apartment. Despite the annoyance Pepper had shown when I first arrived, she seemed calmer than usual.

"Any time," Pepper replied. "Thanks again for letting me watch Rinzler," she added cheerfully. "He's quite the handful."

"You have no idea." Back on the Grid he would scare the crap out of programs when he had the chance. I could still remember a few programs running away because he had tried pouncing on them. Had to laugh at it now the more I thought about it. He'd even managed to startle Agent Hill when we first met.

Pepper simply grinned before returning to her car. "Take care of yourself," she said once the engine was on and running.

With the slightest roll of my eyes, I headed inside my apartment. Only to find files laid out across the table beside the small kitchen. Rinzler was sitting on the sofa, looking at me with wide red eyes as if nothing had happened.

There were times I really wished that I had cameras installed on both the Grid and here. Whoever was in here hadn't taken anything. But it unnerved me to know that someone _was_ in here to begin with. Holding back a sigh of frustration, I reached the table to see what the files were about.

My eyes narrowed in confusion as I read the report hidden within the files. A group known as the Rising Tide was forming against SHIELD. And apparently they had information on the Grid. The identity of the leader was unknown, but from what I gathered, SHIELD was doing their best to find them.

"Why send the files to me?" I wondered out loud. True, I should be worried about the Grid. But with Tron and his new team watching over it, there wasn't much I could do from the outside. It was than I noticed what was written on the top.

"_Report to SHIELD as soon as possible_."

SHIELD could wait at this point. It was already late, and I could only think of the device Tony had given me. So with a sigh of frustration, I pushed aside the files and pulled out the tablet. Hopefully Beck wasn't too busy on the missions Tron sent him into.

The screen seemed to take forever to turn on as I sat on the sofa. Rinzler was curled up against the arm rest, tail wrapped over his nose while I had the television on as low as possible. Moments later and Beck finally picked up.

"Hey," he said with the slightest of smirks.

"Hey yourself," I replied while trying to smother my happiness. It felt like cycles had passed since I'd seen him. In reality it was only three days. "How's it going on the Grid?" I was still concerned about what those files had said. What if someone else had discovered it?

"The usual." Beck sounded more exhausted than usual, if that were even possible. "Tron managed to round up a team, but programs are still in a bit of shock after what happened. The games are still being held."

My shoulders sagged at the mention of the games. No, they weren't your typical User video games that people tend to think of. The games were dangerous death matches. Light cycle races and disk battles. I'd seen it all while being held as Rinzler's prisoner.

"Don't they realize that Clu's gone?" I asked warily.

"Apparently not," Beck replied. He frowned when he noticed my worried expression. "Is everything alright? You seem more tense than usual," he added.

"No, everything's fine," I lied. "I'm just... glad we could talk again." I sighed at the last part. Really, it was great being able to see him again. I only wished it was in person.

"You have no idea." I couldn't help but grin at Beck's response. "I've been helping Tony design a few tools we could use here on the Grid. Hopefully within the next few cycles everything will be the way it was, before Clu took over."

I didn't miss the chagrin in his voice. Beck really did enjoy working with Tony, much as he would deny it. And Tony was... well a kid at heart, as Natasha had often described him. Those two could probably spend hours just fixing up a light cycle or modifying the Grid itself.

"The secret is out. For decades, your organization stayed in the shadows, hiding the truth, but now we know-they're among us. Heroes... and monsters. The world is full of wonders... We can't explain everything we see. But our eyes are open. So what now? There are no more shadows for you to hide in. Something impossible just happened. What are you going to do about it?"

The tablet nearly fell out of my hands when I heard a voice rise over the television. Beck's expression was almost priceless as he heard those words. I glanced at the TV warily and noticed that the screen went dark.

"I should probably... go," I murmured after realizing that something was wrong.

"Be careful." I looked back at Beck, eyes watering up slightly. Training as a SHIELD agent meant my life was always going to be on the line. It was time I accepted that truth, as much as I didn't want to.

"I will be," I promised before turning off the screen.

Shortly after my phone began to ring. Holding back another sigh of frustration, I pulled it out of my pocket and noticed who was calling me. This was about to get interesting.

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**AN: So there's the second chapter! Hope it didn't seem too rushed. But I'm really enjoying writing this, so we'll see where it goes! And yes, she did finally get to see Beck again. Just not in person /=**

**Big thanks to 2theSky, Sunofaia and PrincessKai317 for reviewing! You guys are awesome :D**

**End of Line**


	3. Chapter Three

_Life goes on, It gets so heavy, The wheel breaks the butterfly, Every tear, a waterfall, In the night, the stormy night, She closed her eyes, In the night, the stormy night, Away she'd fly. - Paradise, Coldplay_

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**Chapter Three**

"Hey Sam." It's been a while since I've spoken to Sam Flynn. Being the owner of a multi-million dollar company meant he was always busy. In a way he was a lot like Tony, but in other ways they were nothing alike. "Do you know anything about the Rising Tide?"

My question must have caught him off guard. I was on my way to the Hub after the latest news leak. Long story short, someone had hacked into SHIELD's database and leaked information on the agency itself. From what I'm gathering, that isn't a good thing.

"I used to work for them when I was younger," he admitted after a few moments of silence passed between us. "Alan steered me on the right path after I almost got sent to jail."

I felt my blood run cold as I recalled that he was good at hacking into systems. Just like his father. I wonder what other sort of rebellions he'd been part of.

"What exactly do you know about them?" It didn't take me long to reach the Hub, but I stayed outside as I tried gathering more info on this latest 'threat'. So far it seemed like SHIELD had nothing on the Rising Tide. Whoever they were, they knew to keep themselves hidden.

"Sorry, that isn't exactly something we should chat about over the phone." I didn't miss the wariness in Sam's voice.

Part of me understood his wariness. If he still had ties with the group than it wasn't smart to give out any secrets. And in a world like this one, secrets were always a common thing to come by.

"Okay, so why did you call me?" I asked.

"Just thought I'd check in on an old friend." Okay, now that sounded strange, even for him.

Something was definitely wrong. But before I could say anything else, he quickly said goodbye and hung up on me. I simply gaped at the phone in disbelief before shoving it back into my pocket. I don't know why I even bothered.

With a sigh of frustration, I quickly pushed my way into the Hub, only to find the building strangely empty. Did I miss something? Unless the Rising Tide managed to capture every SHIELD agent (highly unlikely), than why was the building empty?

Before I knew what was happening, someone grabbed me by the wrist. I let out a yelp of surprise and twisted around, kicking the attacker in the thigh. They stumbled back with a groan of pain, giving me enough time to put distance between us.

Instinct quickly kicked in and I grabbed my light staff. It was the only weapon I had at the moment, and it was a gift from and old friend who lived on the Grid. For countless cycles it had never failed me. I sure hoped it wouldn't fail me this time.

"Wait, I'm not a threat!" The attacker threw up his hands, still trembling in shock from our fight.

I threw my light staff in front of him. "Funny, because you made it seem like you are," I snapped.

"Agent Ward, I see you've already met one of our newest recruits." I felt my blood run cold when I recognized the voice. Agent Coulson approached us, still wearing a suit and that charming smile as he stopped short. "And your new team member," he added sheepishly.

"Team member?" We said the words at the same time. I glared at Agent Ward as he realized what just happened.

"Since when have I signed up to be part of a team?" I demanded coldly. If I was joining any team, it might as well be Tron's. Didn't know how working alongside the Avengers again would work out. Something told me it wouldn't easy.

"You've already fought alongside the Avengers, and you were trained by Tron," Coulson explained. Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed that Agent Ward was staring at both me and Coulson in disbelief. I wonder if he'd read the files. "I'd like you to join my team, at least until we find out who the Rising Tide are."

I wasn't sure if I should feel flattered or angry. Having an agent just walking up to me and asking to join their team probably didn't happen too often. But I had to remember that he was supposed to be dead. Now I was more curious than ever as to how he had survived getting stabbed by Loki.

"Sir, are you sure that's a good idea?" Agent Ward seemed to read my mind as he recovered from his surprise.

I quickly turned my light staff back into a baton and folded my arms. Coulson simply smirked in response before replying, "She's on the same level as Agent May, who will also be joining us shortly."

This time I raised an eyebrow in confusion. I'd heard stories about Agent May. Now she was an agent I'd rather avoid. She had a history for being known as the 'Cavalry'. Taking on more men than anyone else and even risking her life more than once.

"Same level my ass - no offense." I rolled my eyes at Ward's response.

If Coulson wasn't with us I would've smacked him across the forehead. True Coulson might be exaggerating, but that wasn't something one said in front of a seventeen-year-old. But after spending three weeks with Tony Stark, I was used to that kind of language.

"Who else is part of this team?" I asked warily.

"You'll be meeting them shortly," Coulson replied. He led the way outside to a bright red car. Agent Ward raised an eyebrow after reading the license plate. "Don't touch Lola," he added after noticing Ward's curious gaze. "That's what I call her," he added.

I couldn't help but laugh at his explanation. He'd be in a state of shock if he saw a light cycle. Light cycles made Lola look like an antique.

"So, what exactly do I tell them if they decide to call?" Coulson's face paled slightly at the mention of you-know-who. Frankly I'm surprised Agent Ward hasn't mentioned anything. Maybe he didn't know the truth, or he was trying to ignore the fact that they were my parents.

"Agent May already has that taken care of," Coulson replied calmly. "We've asked Ms. Potts to take care of your things while you're gone."

And by things he likely meant Rinzler. I imagine Pepper's regretting taking care of him now. I really hoped Tony didn't decide to experiment on poor Rinzler. Natasha had already warned me that he might try pulling that stunt off.

It took us less than thirty minutes to reach a large open field. How there was a large open field in the middle of New York City was beyond me. But the runway told me that it used to be an airport of some kind. It was what lay in the middle of the field that caught my attention.

A huge black plane was landed safely in the middle of the field. Even someone with poor eyesight would see a massive plane like this. In a way it reminded me of the hellicarrier, only slightly smaller in size. There were guards posted outside the entrance as Coulson pulled into the open door.

"Hi there, I hope Agent May treated you well," Coulson said as a young looking woman approached him. She stood beside a red van, looking at the object rather affectionately.

"Well I'm not dead," she said tersely. Her eyes widened when she noticed me getting out of the car, followed shortly after by Agent Ward. "You must be Mira," she added after showing me her hand. "I'm Skye," she added as I studied it warily.

"Oh... hi," I stammered as I shook it.

I'd read Skye's file before getting here. Apparently she was in the same situation as me - not knowing who her real parents were. But there was one difference between us. Unlike her, I'd learned at an early age that life wasn't going to be easy. And I had to fight for my freedom.

"I have to say, it's a huge honor meeting you," Skye added as we made our way towards the base. "After that news leak, I've been dying to find out what it's like on the Grid."

"That's enough," Coulson stopped Skye before she continued babbling. "The Grid is classified information, and only a few know of it's existence." He glanced at me uncertainly, and I just shrugged in response.

I'm not the one that owned the Grid or created it. That was all Flynn's idea. Maybe some day Sam would take on his father's idea and reveal the Grid to the world. But as far as I knew, the Grid was off limits to the public.

"Right this way." Agent Ward took the lead as we headed for what looked like the central living space. Couches were spread out across the small room, and right in the middle was a winding staircase. I noticed that bags were placed along the couches, stuffed with what I guess was clothing. "Welcome to the Bus," Agent Ward

"Why's it called the Bus?" Skye asked the question I'd been thinking for the past few seconds.

"We couldn't think of a better name." I felt my blood run cold when another agent joined us. This one was older than Agent Ward, closer to Natasha and Clint's age. She was studying me almost as closely as I studied her.

"And here I didn't think the tension could get any higher," Skye muttered as an icy silence fell upon us.

"Agent May, I'd like you to meet our newest recruit," Coulson introduced us after May folded her arms.

I kept on staring at her as she nodded in understanding. Thankfully Grant was leading Skye away from the living space. May finally seemed to relax a little once they were gone. I raised an eyebrow as Coulson stepped in beside her.

"So you're the one I've been hearing so much about," she said in an almost accusing tone. "I know all about your files," she added as I folded my arms and glared back. "You're quick to fight back. You don't like strangers."

"After what she went through, can you blame her?" I tried not to roll my eyes as Coulson finally spoke up.

I wonder how much Fury told him after reading the reports Natasha had sent. Obviously he knew more about me than I'd like to know.

"Why am I here?" I finally asked.

Coulson looked at me in surprise, while May just smirked in response. "Because of your tie with the Grid," Coulson replied. "With that in mind, we may need your help finding out who the Rising Tide is working for."

"May being the operative word," I muttered under my breath.

"Look kid, this is what you signed up for," Agent May snapped. "The sooner we catch these people, the sooner your life can go back to normal."

My life has never been normal, even from the start. But saying that out loud wouldn't help. Judging by May's angry look, this was far from over. And Coulson just stood there with his hands clasped as though nothing was wrong.

I didn't expect to get along with these people. Heck, the Avengers didn't get along with each other. But they made it work. I suppose somehow I could try it out for a few missions and see how it went.

"I suppose I could give it a try," I murmured.

"Good, the bunkers are just ahead," Coulson explained as I grabbed my bags. "I'd like you to meet the rest of your team before you get some rest," he added as I made my way towards the bunkers.

With a sigh of frustration, I made my way towards what I guessed was the sleeping quarters. From here I could see what looked like a lab, and everyone was inside. They could wait until I found a suitable room. And from what I could tell, the rooms here were even smaller than the ones on the hellicarrier.

_This is gonna be fun_, I thought sarcastically.

It didn't take me long to find a room with a small window to look out. At least here I could escape and talk with Beck when I wanted to. I wondered how things were going since they'd discovered that the games were still going on.

. . .

Coulson was still grinning as Mira left the room. May's arms finally unfolded once she was gone. She definitely had the Black Widow's attitude, May could give her that much. But she wasn't impressed. Until she knew what the girl could do, Mira was nothing to her.

"I know what you're thinking," Coulson finally said after a moment of silence followed.

"She's a danger to this team," May replied. "If they find out about this-" Coulson cut her off before she could say it.

"I know full well what they will do," he told her. "But her ties with the Grid might help Skye understand why she's part of the team as well."

May's shoulders sagged at the mention of Skye. That one was a danger to their operation as well. Having someone with direct ties to the Rising Tide on board was asking for trouble. Skye had already hacked into SHIELD's database once. Now she had full access to their system.

"We'll be keeping a close eye on her," Coulson said reassuringly. "As for Mira, I wouldn't worry about her. She's more like them than she realizes."

"That's what worries me," May retorted.

But she didn't question him any further. Coulson obviously had his reasons for bringing them on board. And sooner or later they would all find out why. With SHIELD, there was a reason behind everything.

* * *

**AN: So there's chapter three. Now I'm not planning on following the episode list of Agents of SHIELD (if you haven't guessed that already) but the first part of episode one was included in this for obvious reasons. Anywho, big thanks to 2theSky, PrincessKai317 and Sunofaia for reviewing! You guys are awesome! :D**

**End of Line**


	4. Chapter Four

_"I have to win this now, and for all time, or I'll fight it every day and it will get worse and worse." - Ender's Game_

* * *

**Chapter Four**

I was more than surprised to see Agents Fitz and Simmons standing in the lab. Grant and Skye were somewhere in else in the Bus, much to my relief. I'd rather not have Skye breathing down my neck asking questions about the Grid.

"Mira, it's good to see you again," Simmons said after noticing my arrival. Her smile almost made me want to smile back._ Almost_. I knew from her sympathetic look that she understood I wanted nothing to do with this. "I trust that anti-virus is working splendidly," she added.

"Yeah," I replied sheepishly. "Thanks again, for your help."

"Most of that was Dr. Banner's work," Fitz explained as he studied what looked like a gun of some kind. "We've been following his work thoroughly, and it was... a huge honor to work alongside him."

I tried not to laugh when I noticed how excited Fitz was talking about spending time with the famous Dr. Banner. I could imagine it was like watching a kid in the candy shop.

"So Coulson decided to ask you to join our little team?" Simmons finally looked up from the files she was reading.

"Erm, yeah," I replied. "So about Coulson..." I paused when Simmons exchanged a look with Fitz. "How is he still alive?"

They might have an idea as to what had happened. I didn't know much about him aside from the fact that he'd died fighting Loki. Getting stabbed in the heart wasn't something Users normally recovered from.

"We're not entirely sure ourselves," Fitz replied. "But we do know that he spent a few weeks in Tahiti."

_What the Users is Tahiti_? I wondered after raising an eyebrow in surprise. I still didn't know much about the world around me. After living on the Grid for so long, you tend to forget about things in the User world. And I'd only lived in one part of the United States while I was in the User world.

"It's a magical place." I froze when I heard Coulson's voice coming from behind. "Spend a few weeks there and you'll see why."

"I'd like to see just how capable you are at fighting." May stood beside Coulson, hands on her hips as she once again eyed me down. "Training room, right now."

Before I could argue she left the room, leaving us in another awkward situation. Because this day wasn't long enough, and I wasn't exhausted enough. I glanced at Agent Coulson. He only shrugged at the glare I gave him.

Once again frustration swelled within me before I followed. Guess I really didn't have much of a choice in the matter. If Agent May wanted a fight, I'd give her one she'd remember. She was nothing like Natasha or Clint from what I could tell. And I wasn't going to go easy on her.

. . .

She was staring me down once we reached the training room. Skye and Grant had left shortly after we arrived. I didn't miss the worried look Skye had given me before she left. But I wasn't focusing on her. I reached for my light staff and tossed it to the side, so I wasn't tempted to use it. Agent May just looked at me in surprise before throwing a fist.

Thinking fast, I ducked and threw out my legs. May saw the move coming and leaped out of the way. She twisted around and stabbed me in the ribs with her fingers.

I kept dodging from side to side just avoid her punches and kicks. At this rate I'd end up passing out from exhaustion. And I knew that was what she planned for. Narrowing my eyes, I twisted around and caught her by the fist. May's eyes widened in shock as I threw her across the room. She landed on her feet, still glaring at me after recovering from the sudden attack.

"I'm not done just yet," May snapped as I reached for my light staff.

Annoyance flared within me. There were times I really wished I _could_ take out my frustration on Users. But I knew better.

Closing my eyes, I performed a back flip just as May was about to knock me down. I twisted around and sent her flying once more with a forceful kick in the side. Without thinking of it, I threw my light staff close to her exposed neck.

"Mira, that's enough." The staff dropped out of my hands after Coulson finally spoke up. "May, I need to speak with you, alone," he added to Agent May.

_Wonderful_, I thought after sighing in both relief and anger. I've just pissed off one of SHIELD's top agents. And she would likely continue hating me once this was over.

"Don't take it personally," Fitz said as I walked out of the room. "She treats every new agent like that."

"What about you?" I raised an eyebrow. It was still unnerving, knowing that I could have easily killed her if I wanted to.

"I'm not in the same field her," Fitz explained.

I followed him out of the room after grabbing my light staff. What bothered me more than anything was how easily I adapted to that fight. If it had gone any longer, Agent May might have been killed. I wonder if this was how Beck had felt when he had the weapon's upgrade.

This whole team thing wasn't going to work out real well. I didn't want to hurt anyone, not unless they deserved it. But this was what I had signed up for. Maybe it was time to push aside that growing fear I had felt earlier.

. . .

"What happened back there?" Coulson folded his arms once they reached his office. May stood near the entrance, eyes narrowed as she thought before her answer.

"I was studying her moves," May replied rather briskly.

"It was more than that." May frowned at Coulson's accusing tone.

True, the fight could have taken a turn for the worse. But the girl held back. She had an edge over her opponent. That staff of hers was going to make a useful weapon.

"That weapon isn't from around here," she explained warily. "I want to know why she even bothered joining SHIELD if she doesn't want to be part of this team."

Coulson raised an eyebrow. True, she did want nothing to do with this team. And she would likely turn down the offer to become a full member. But until that moment came, he was the one Fury had asked to keep an eye on her. At least until things finally settled down.

"It's called a light staff," he explained as May just stared at him. "A weapon like that came from the Grid."

"And Fury wants to know if something like that can be used here." Understanding lit within her eyes as May straightened up.

She doubted Mira was going to appreciate being used like that. But Fury had his reasons for developing such weapons. After the whole Cyrus fiasco, she understood his reasons.

"I'd like to see the Grid someday," Coulson added almost thoughtfully. "Maybe even meet Tron in person."

Agent May's only response was a roll of her eyes. This world was dangerous enough to her liking. She didn't need to see another world and get threatened several times a day. And from what she had gathered, time worked differently on the Grid. Days were cycles, and there was no day as a matter of fact. It didn't sound like an appealing place to live. And she wasn't too keen on paying the Grid a visit.

. . .

Music blared from my iPod as I rummaged through my bags. Thankfully I always kept that in my pocket, along with the device that Tony had given me. Even though it had only been a few hours since I last spoke to Beck, something compelled me to try and contact him again. After what just happened, I could use a little escape from this world.

"**I've seen your face on stained glass, in colored lights, In pictures of you looking to the sky, You've been portrayed a thousand different ways, But my heart can see you better than my eyes, 'Cause it's love that paints the portrait of your life**…"

Sanctus Real had an odd way of calming me down. Maybe because most of their music could relate to my life. Right now I'm just thankful to have music to listen to.

"**The face of love, The face of love, You look more like love every day**…"

After a few seconds past, the screen finally turned on. I tried not to let out a sigh of relief when I saw Beck's face on the screen. And that relief was short lived when I noticed how exhausted he looked. Again.

"Hey," he said in a quiet voice.

"Hey yourself," I replied with the slightest of grins. "How's life treating you on the Grid?"

"Mara and Zed have been asking Tron where I am," he sighed. "They're part of the team we built."

Oh wow. Somehow I couldn't see Zed fighting back. Mara on the other hand was a different story. She had already proven several times that she could fight back if she wanted to. Now I understood why he was so worried.

"You're afraid of what they'll say," I murmured sympathetically.

More like he was afraid they would say he had abandoned them when Clu took over Argon City. I bit the bottom of my lip and wondered just how much they knew about Beck's double life.

"Something like that," he muttered. "Tron thinks they'll forgive me, but I'm not sure."

"If they are true friends, they'll forgive you," I told him.

And Mara might be willing to forgive him right away. Zed might need some time to get over the fact that Beck had been the Renegade all this time. At least with things finally settling down on the Grid, Beck and Tron could finally live peacefully.

"What about you?" Beck's question caught me off guard. "You look more worried than usual."

"It's nothing," I replied as quickly as I could.

There was no need for him to worry about me. With the problems he was facing on the Grid, he had more important things to work with. Beck raised an eyebrow at my last remark. I tried not to sigh in frustration as I looked out the window.

"I almost killed someone," I whispered. If Coulson hadn't stepped in, she might have been killed. I let anger get the better of me.

"But you didn't." It was amazing how reassuring those words were. I looked at Beck in surprise as he stared back at me. "You're not like them," he added in a softer voice.

"Beck, I wish that were true," I muttered crossly. "Everyone keeps saying that I look just like them." I held back another sigh of frustration and looked out the window once more. Lately I'd been doing that more often than ever.

"At least you're not being compared to Tron." This time it was my turn to stare at Beck in disbelief. Before I could ask what he meant by that, someone spoke up in the background. "I've gotta go," he quickly said. "I love you," he added before the screen went blank.

It took every ounce of strength not to throw the screen at the wall. So much for getting some alone time together. At this point I wasn't even sure when we would see each other again. With the new team Coulson had decided to form, it seemed I wasn't likely to get much free time on my own.

"Are you alright?" I flinched when I heard a familiar voice speaking up. The door slid open, and there stood Skye, looking at me curiously. "Sorry," she added sheepishly. "I thought I heard someone else in there."

"It's fine," I replied. "I was talking to…" I cut myself off before I said his name.

_She doesn't know about the Grid as far as I was concerned_, I reminded myself.

"Was that Beck you were talking to?" Skye's question made me stare at her in disbelief. "Hey, I may not know much about the files SHIELD's keeping from us, but I do know about your friend. I watched the news."

"Oh… yeah, that was Beck," I muttered crossly.

I had to admit that she was good. She may not have the ability to fight back like other SHIELD agents, but she was street-smart. On the Grid that along with the ability to fight back was what had kept me alive. That and knowing who I could or couldn't trust.

"I'm sure you get this a lot, but I can't resist asking," Skye continued after noticing that I was letting my guard down. "What's it like on the Grid?"

"Before or after Clu?" This time she looked taken aback by my question.

Considering everything that was happening, I had a feeling that the Grid's existence wasn't going to be kept secret for too long. Besides, it would be nice knowing someone else understood the Grid as much as I did.

"**Through the window, I see you waiting, You are smiling, Cause I'm coming, Your eyes are a story, An ocean of memories, Pictures of faces and places, And all of the things, That make us feel like we have it all**…"

A new song started playing as I told Skye about the Grid before Clu had been taken down. And she took everything in as if she could actually see the Grid in person. It was hard to explain without being able to show anyone.

"**All of the times, That make us realize, We have it all, We have it all, Life is beautiful**…"

"Wow, I can't believe anyone could go through something like that," Skye murmured once I finished my story.

"Yeah well, after the first few cycles I got used to it," I replied with a shrug.

Truthfully I had always wondered how I managed to get through it all. Without Quorra's help I might not have lived to see another cycle. She really was my saving grace in more ways than one. But I had also suffered losses during my time on the Grid. And even though Clu was gone, I could never forgive him for what he did.

"So Cyrus is still out there?" I felt my blood run cold at the mention of Cyrus.

He had wreaked havoc throughout the User world when Beck and I arrived. Natasha was the one that had taken him down in the end. But I knew that no prison could keep him locked up forever. Sooner or later Cyrus was going to escape. And he was probably plotting his revenge as we speak.

"Why are you here?" My voice suddenly became cold as I asked her the question.

I didn't miss the wary look flashing across her eyes as she searched for an answer. From what I gathered, she didn't want any part of this either. Somehow Coulson had managed to convince her along with two other reluctant agents to join his team.

"You know what it's like, not knowing who your real parents are?" Skye looked away as she spoke, hands trembling slightly. "I was hoping I could find out who they are… but it seems like that's not going to happen anytime soon."

I bit the bottom of my lip in understanding. I knew all too well what that was like. And than finding out that my parents weren't the people I thought they were. That only made my life ten times harder than it already was.

"How do you know SHIELD has the files?" I asked warily.

"SHIELD has files on anyone that defies them," she simply said.

That made sense. As much as I hated to admit it, she was right about that. And if you got on their list the bad way, you'd end up disappearing in the next few days. I'd learned that the hard way after seeing Natasha and Clint's memories.

"Well, good luck with that," I murmured as she straightened up to leave. Maybe she would get lucky and find her parents' files. But something told me there was more to Skye than meets the eye.

* * *

**AN: Thought that line from Ender's Game was very fitting. And my longest chapter yet! (Almost three K long!) Big thanks to 2theSky and PrincessKai317 for reviewing! You guys are amazing :D**

**Lyrics come from the songs The Face of Love and Life Is Beautiful by the Afters. I don't own them in any way.**

**End of Line**


	5. Chapter Five

_I'm not afraid of you anymore!_

_You may not fear me, but look who's afraid of you. - Slade to Raven, Teen Titans_

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Fear wasn't something I had difficulty dealing with. My entire life was built out of fear. I had been afraid of losing my parents when I was younger. When I reached the Grid, I was terrified of Clu. And when I got older and a bit more responsibie, I was terrified of Cyrus. After finding my way to the User world, I was afraid of admitting who my birth parents were.

Needless to say, I wasn't afraid. Or, I thought I wasn't afraid.

I stood there with my eyes narrowed in rage. Standing in front of me was someone that made my blood run cold. It wasn't the evil smirk that sent shivers down my arms. It was the way his circuits glowed that made me wish I could derezz him right than and there.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded as coldly as I could.

"Do you really think a simple prison is going to keep me locked up?" Cyrus chuckled as he shook his head. "You'd be amazed at how easy it is to manipulate Users."

_Why can't you just leave me alone already_? I wanted to spit out. Even on the Grid Cyrus had been taunting me in my dreams. When I couldn't fight back because I was too weak he had pushed me to my limits. In the User world he'd almost killed me more than once.

"Who did this to you?" I suddenly asked.

It took me a few seconds to remember the vision I'd had of him. Cycles before Tron and Able had imprisoned him, Cyrus had been fighting an infection. Whatever that infection was, it made him desperate enough to seek help from a dangerous program. That program had tampered with his disk, leaving him who he was today.

"Like I would tell you," he laughed a bitter laugh. "I will tell you one thing though. Clu planted a fail-safe on the Grid the moment Flynn disappeared. And sooner or later, that fail-safe is going to explode. Every bit of the system will crumble, and you won't be able to do a thing about it."

By now my legs felt numb with an overwhelming sense of fear and dread. Cyrus rarely lied unless it helped him some way. And he had once worked for Clu. As much as I hated to admit it, he'd gotten to me.

Silence filled the room when he was gone. I tried to think of where Clu would have planted such a device, if it existed. But as soon as I started thinking of it, the door to my room suddenly opened. And there stood Grant, arms folded as he waited for me to say something.

"Simmons was complaining that she heard someone screaming," he explained after noticing my panicked expression.

Without warning I grabbed the device Tony had given me. Grant raised an eyebrow in surprise as I turned it on, desperate to see whether or not Beck was safe. To my growing dismay, I could only see the Outlands stretching ahead on the screen.

"What the hell is that?" I didn't even notice that May had joined Grant. Her expression was wary as I turned off the device and stuffed it in my bag.

"It was nothing," I snapped.

"That looked like more than nothing," Grant retorted.

I frowned as I thought of any way out of this. Tony would likely be peeved if I told them about his latest invention. I had to come up with an excuse, and fast.

"Guys, we have a bit of a problem." Skye's voice sounded over the intercom.

At this point I might give her a big hug for distracting them. But now wasn't the time to act rashly. With a sigh of relief, I followed them towards the lab. Fitz was already inside, studying what looked like a fragmant of a bomb Cyrus might have designed.

"Does this look familiar to you?" he asked after noticing I had joined them.

"Unfortunately, yes." The device was definitely part of a bomb that Cyrus might have developed. I'd recognize the code anywhere. "Where did you find it?" I asked warily.

"Near Los Angeles," May replied. "Grant and I were sent to clean up the remains of that fight."

I didn't miss Skye's curious look. Clearly she had missed the whole battle between the Avengers and Pavel's army. That was probably a good thing. I think she was having enough of a time grasping the fact that this was all real.

"The device is deactivated, but could still be lethal in the wrong hands," Fitz explained. "The code within it is extremely complex. I doubt even the great Tony Stark could figure it out."

"What exactly does that mean?" Grant asked

"That's what I've been trying to figure out," Skye muttered with a roll of her eyes.

Closing my eyes, I thought of everything that was about to happen. The dream I'd had felt more real than ever. It meant that Cyrus had likely found a way to contact me, even with SHIELD keeping him on lockdown.

"We need to go back," I murmured so softly that I wasn't sure anyone had heard me.

"Go back where?" My eyes snapped open when Coulson finally joined us. "Something bothering you?" Judging from his sly grin, he knew all too well what I was thinking.

"I'm sorry, but I need to go." Before anyone could argue, I fled the room. My mind was still spinning as I thought of where the fail-safe would be triggered. If my theory was correct, the Grid might be falling apart piece by piece.

"Where are you going?" Quick as a light cycle May had reached me, grabbing my arm before I could go any further.

"Something's come up," I snapped. "Something big."

For a brief moment I thought I noticed May's expression softening a little. But as quickly as it had happened, her face hardened and her eyes narrowed. I jumped a little when I heard my phone ringing. If I wasn't relieved before, I was now. And I was even more relieved to see who was calling me.

"We have a problem." I could tell from the panic in Sam's voice. I glanced back at May, whose eyes were still narrowed thoughtfully.

"I know," I muttered under my breath. "Sam, what's happening to the Grid?"

"I don't know," he sighed irritably. "One minute it's fine, and the next cities are beginning to derezz."

So that's what Cyrus had meant by the fail-safe. Clu planted some kind of weapon to make cities derezz bit by bit. From what it sounded like, the process was a slow and painful destruction.

"I'll be there as soon as I can." If May wasn't showing her anger earlier, she was showing it now. I shoved my way past her and reached the others in a matter of seconds.

"Something's wrong on the Grid." Before I could explain what was going on, Coulson had already jumped to a conclusion.

"Yeah, something like that," I replied warily. "Look, I'm sorry, but this is important. If I don't warn Tron the Grid might be destroyed."

"Hold up, how do we know she isn't lying?" Grant demanded.

Did I look like I was lying? The glare I gave him must have worked. Grant quickly shut his mouth after realizing what he had said. Being on the Grid had given _me_ an edge. I suppose it's good I was used to dealing with Users like him.

"We'll go with you," Coulson said as we made our way towards the garage.

May was landing the Bus near the closest airport once we reached Los Angeles. I was relieved that she didn't question me, but I didn't like the idea of them following me to the Grid. With everything that was happening, it might not be a good idea to bring Users along.

"Try and keep up," I muttered with the faintest of nods.

Coulson's smirk told me he knew exactly what he was doing. This what SHIELD agents were trained for. To deal with the things that normal people couldn't handle. And it was time to finish what had been started.

* * *

**AN: Shorter chapter, but I wanted to end it there. Next few chapters will be longer, and there are five more to go :) So the shortness will not last! Anywho, thanks to 2theSky and Sunofaia for reviewing! You guys are awesome!**

**End of Line**


	6. Chapter Six

_This is war, So pick your side. It's time to move, not time to hide. Don't let lies, make up your mind. Cause you will see, We're Running Out of Time. - Running Out of Time, Barlow Girl_

* * *

**Chapter Six**

**Part Two - The Grid**

Bits crunched under their boots as they reached the edge of the city. After evacuating what was left of Gallium, now they could see why everyone was panicking. Half of the city was crumbling away bit by bit. Porgrams that had once lived together had lost their homes.

Beck frowned as he noticed how fast it was derezzing. Even the island that he, Mira and Paige had been stuck on didn't derezz this fast. When he glanced at Tron, he noticed the worry in his mentor's eyes. Well, now he understood that worry was something Tron had always felt lately. But even this was different.

"What's happening?" Mara demanded as she joined them.

Tron typed in a few codes on his disk. Moments later and images flew past the screen. Bright red images that Beck had never seen appeared shortly after. The bits he stood on suddenly changed color. Tron's face fell when he realized what the code meant.

"No," he whispered.

"What?" Beck raised an eyebrow. He'd never heard such doubt in Tron's voice.

"Clu planted a fail-safe in every city around the Grid," Tron explained after putting his disk back in place. "Before he merged with Flynn, he must have activated the fail-safe."

"What does that mean?" Mara asked warily.

"It means… the Grid is going to derezz," Tron sighed heavily. "And we can't do a thing about it."

Panic was evident in Mara's eyes. Beck suddenly understood the seriousness of the situation. He hated admitting that Tron was right - because it meant that everyone's life was in danger. And everything they had worked for up to now would be for nothing.

"No," Beck sudddenly said. Both Mara and Tron eyed him warily. Though he was still wearing his disguise around Mara, he had a feeling she already knew who he was. But he wasn't risking his revelation until he knew for sure she had forgiven him. "I refuse to give up," he added. "If anyone can help us, it's the Users."

He really wished that Mira was with them. She might have known how to stop the fail-safe. Or maybe her User friends would have found a way. But she wasn't around to stop this from happening. It was up to them to stop this.

"Then may Flynn help us all," Tron sighed after realizing that Beck was right. At this point it would take a miracle for the Grid to be saved.

. . .

We reached Encom Tower in no time. Sam and Quorra were busy looking over the results they had discovered moments before our arrival. They finally looked at us in surprise when they realized they weren't alone.

"The Digitizer's ready," Quorra explained after glancing over her shoulder. The device was smaller than the one Tony had used. Which probably made carrying it a whole lot easier.

"That's what you called it?" Skye asked in surprise.

"Well we didn't have a better name for it," Sam replied after typing away furiously at the computer. "We've managed to design an SD card that you can plug into your disk," he added. Quorra stood up and handed me the small device. "Once it's loaded into your disk you should be able to access every code on the Grid, including the fail-safe that Clu modified."

_So it's kind of like the tool Beck uses_, I thought. Only from what I could tell, it sounded much more powerful.

"I really hope this works," Quorra murmured. "The Grid means everything to me."

I eyed her warily before nodding in agreement. I would do anything to keep the Grid and it's residents safe. That was the promise I had made long ago, when I started training with Beck.

"Sam, if you receive a call from _them_, you know what to do," Coulson added to Sam.

I couldn't help but cringe as I understood what he meant by that. Clint and Natasha would probably strangle him if they knew what was going on. Sam simply locked gazes with Coulson before nodding in acceptance. He'd already met them twice. He knew all too well what they were like.

"Everyone ready?" I glanced around as even Fitz and Simmons had joined us.

Their knowledge of technology in general could be useful. And Grant's fighting skills might come in handy if programs start to get aggressive. Coulson's only response was a faint nod as he stood close to me. I braced myself as the Digitizer whirred to life.

In a matter of seconds that odd feeling returned. The bright light that followed was quickly replaced with darkness as we were rezzed bit by bit to the Grid. Cold wind pierced my skin as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. But to my relief, there weren't any recognizers flying around. And no black guard chasing us because we had broken curfew. For once we weren't in danger of getting captured by Clu or his soldiers.

I reached for the SD card Quorra had given me and bit the bottom of my lip. I had no idea how this thing would work. But I had to hope and pray somehow that it would fix the Grid. That Clu wasn't smart enough to know something like this could be designed.

"Holy mother fudge," Skye gasped as she finally recovered from being rezzed to the Grid.

I tried not to smirk after noticing everyone's expressions. Maybe I should start carrying around a camera. This would've made a great photoshot.

"Yep, that's one way to say it," Grant muttered. "So this is what the Grid looks like. Or, what's left of it."

Those words sent chills down my arms. I followed his gaze and noticed what he was staring at.

Parts of the Outlands had already started derezzing. Even the mountain that was Tron's safehouse had started crumbling apart. Holding back a sigh of frustration, I reached for my disk and held up the SD card. But before I could place it in, May swiftly grabbed it from under my hands.

"How do we know this isn't going to make things worse?" she demanded in a cold voice.

"May, we have more pressing things to worry about," Coulson replied. "For one thing, we don't even have a clue where we're going."

He glanced at me, and I slowly nodded in understanding. This was her way of hiding fear. The Grid was something she had never trained for. But she did have one advantage that I didn't on my first arrival to the Grid. She could fight back if she wanted to.

"We need to head to the nearest city, which is Argon," I explained as Coulson handed me the SD card. "With any luck we'll run across the Renegade or Tron."

I led the way towards the city, avoiding the gaping holes that were slowly expanding across the Outlands. I was more than surprised to see what looked like grass growing along the edges of the Outlands. It seemed that the modifications Sam had given the Grid were finally working. At least until Clu's fail-safe started destroying his hard work.

"You have to admit, this is pretty awesome," I heard Skye say as we reached the edge of the city.

"Imagine what sort of tech we could come up with here," Simmons added as cheerfully as she could. "We could develop equipment that would save hundreds of lives."

"Do you know what you're doing with that thing?" Grant's question caught me off guard I came to a halt.

Holding up the device, I shook my head. "No," I admitted guiltily. "But anything is better than what we have now."

Right now anything was worth a try. Even Argon City was slowly beginning to derezz. Programs were running from their homes as they began to collapse. The ship that had once belonged to Tesler was slowly sliding into the Sea of Simulation.

My hands were trembling as I activated my disk and placed the SD card in the center. In nanocycles the blades on my disk suddenly disappeared. A holographic image of me appeared above the bright light. And moments later, the light was surrounded by dozens of codes.

"This is like nothing I've ever seen," Fitz gasped after realizing what was happening. "I really wish I had a camera." I heard Skye muttering something along the lines of 'you and me both'.

_'User, you will lose your life if you do this_.' It was that voice again. The voice I had heard when the virus took over so many days ago. Why did it sound so familiar again? I could barely remember what had happened during the days when I was blacked out.

_'Who are you?_' I demanded after closing my eyes.

'_The device Sam created uses a lot of energy_. _And Users don't have limitless energy like programs_.' I felt my blood run cold when I realized what that meant. If I used the device, it meant that I might not survive the events that followed.

'_The Grid is losing time_,' I quickly snapped. '_Do you know how this works_?'

I wondered how the others were holding up at the moment. I'm pretty sure it looked strange just watching me stand there with my eyes closed. But I couldn't even move as I argued with the voice in my head. And I'm pretty sure they'd think I'd lost it if I told them what was happening.

'_Raise the disk_,' the voice replied after a moment of silence followed. '_And brace yourself_.'

My eyes slowly opened as I understood what this meant. Time to see if this thing actually worked.

"I'm a bit freaked out by this," Simmons admitted when an awkward silence followed.

"The disk is a fake," May said in an accusing tone.

Ignoring her comment, I raised the disk so that it was just over my head. In that split nanocycle, pain seared through me. It took every ounce of my strength not to scream at the energy that was being torn away. Light erupted from my raised disk as I aimed it towards the sky.

"Don't," Coulson must have stopped someone from trying to stop me. I could hear May's angry voice over the sound of the disk whirring. And the panicked cries of Skye and Simmons as Grant was forced to stop them from getting too close.

But their voices were already becoming distant. The light was expanding around me, and suddenly the world around me didn't matter. All I could focus on was putting an end to the fail-safe, and fixing the Grid once and for all.

* * *

**AN: Already on part two! The majority of the next few chapters will take place in the Grid ;) Hence the title and all. So hopefully that wasn't too rushed, even though it sure feels like it was. Thanks to PrincessKai317 and 2theSky for reviewing! You guys are awesome! :D**

**End of Line**


	7. Chapter Seven

_Oh the nights will be long, When I'm not in your arms, But I'll be in your song, That you sing to me, across the sea. Somehow, someday, you will be far away, So far from me and maybe one day, I will follow you, And all you do, 'Til then, send me a song. - Send Me A Song, Celtic Woman_

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

"What's happening?" The ground began to tremble as Beck followed the others back to Argon City. Tron had seen the Portal opening from a fair distance to where they had been standing. And now they were on their way to where the light had been seen.

"The Grid is… stabilizing."

Beck stared at Tron in disbelief just as he avoided falling in another gaping hole. He realized in a nanocycle that Tron was right. The holes around the Outlands were beginning to close up. Mara stared at the area in shock when she noticed what Beck had been looking at.

It didn't take them long to reach the edge of Argon City. Tron was still frowning as he thought over what could have caused the Grid to stabilize. Only something with enough energy could power such a device. And there were few programs aside from ISOs that carried such energy.

"Users!" Mara's cry made Beck pull to a screeching halt.

His eyes widened when saw what Mara was gaping at. That brilliant light Tron had seen earlier was coming from where they were standing. And it looked like they were… arguing over it. Beck tilted his head to one side in confusion. Users kept surprising him with each passing cycle.

Tron turned his light cycle back into a baton when the Users finally noticed their arrival. A User that reminded Beck a little too much of Natasha suddenly whipped around and glared at them. But behind that mask of anger, Beck could see real fear in her eyes.

"There has to be some way to pull her out of that." Beck looked at the two familiar Users in surprise. What were their names again? Fitz and Simmons? It was always hard to remember all of their names. "It's not good for anyone to lose that amount of energy."

"Who are you?" A male program with short black hair stepped out of the crowd, holding a gun as he studied the three programs standing in front of him. Tron only folded his arms and glared back once his mask receded.

"You're in no position to fight back," he simply retorted.

"And you are?" The oldest female User snapped.

"Easy May, Grant, put down the gun." The oldest male User seemed to have the most sense out of everyone in the group. His voice remained calm despite the situation they found themselves in. "We're with SHIELD, and we've been given orders to fix the Grid."

Beck could only gape at them when the oldest User mentioned SHIELD. If SHIELD was here than that could possibly mean… He stared at the User the older one had called May. She kept glancing over her shoulder at the light.

"Mira!" Tron suddenly pried Beck back before he could rush forward. He finally noticed who it was holding the disk. But by the time either of them had noticed, it was too late. "What's happening to her?" Beck demanded after glaring at May and the older User. They didn't even flinch.

"The disk is taking a large amount of energy," Simmons explained uneasily. "The Grid has already lost a substantial amount of memory and code."

"It's going to take more than just the energy of a human to restore it," Fitz finished for her after realizing what that meant.

Panic washed over Beck. Losing her twice was bad enough. But to have to endure this was almost too much for him to handle.

"Have you even tried to help?" Mara demanded in a colder voice than Beck could've mustered.

"Do you think we would have if we could?" Grant countered.

The wall of light was slowly beginning to fade. Along with the circuits that once glowed on Mira's suit. Beck finally shoved his way past Tron and reached her before she could fall over. The disk dropped out of her hands once she passed out.

"Is she…" Mara stopped herself from saying the words.

"The code is stabilized." Tron broke the silence that followed. But there was no relief in his voice. Only worry and the slightest bit of panic.

"How can you tell?" The female User with long dark brown hair asked.

It looked like she was around the same age as Grant. Beck could never tell the difference of ages when it came to Users. He still had difficulty figuring it out. Tron looked at her thoughtfully before coming up with an answer.

"I'm a security program," he explained. "I have access to the Grid in areas others don't."

Beck pulled out what looked liked a tiny square device from Mira's disk. The blades were still activated until he pulled it out, much to his surprise. Once the disk turned off, he put it back in place, hoping that might be enough to help.

"She's still alive," he let out a sigh of relief. A heartbeat. A very faint heartbeat. But it was enough to cause a spark of hope.

"Wait a minute, I remember her from somewhere!" Mara suddenly exclaimed. "She was with Beck when we were at Able's garage!" Mara paused as she realized what that meant. "She's a User," she added in a whisper.

"Is there any way to help her?" Beck asked once Mara finally stopped her muttering. He knew she would never let this one go.

"Energy is what she needs more than anything else," Tron replied before any of the Users could say anything.

Beck didn't miss the wary looks passed between all of the Users. Fitz and Simmons may have heard of the energy that programs needed to survive. But the others were clueless as to what that meant. That wasn't what Beck worried about. He finally locked gazes with Tron, desperate to find out whether or not energy was all it would take.

"The nearest club is a few blocks from here," Mara said warily. She glanced over at the oldest User, whose arms were folded as he studied the situation.

"She may need more than just energy," the oldest User said in a quiet voice. "Once this is over we need to get her to the hospital."

It took every ounce of strength not to glare at him. Beck knew that he was right, as much as he hated to admit it. Mira wasn't going to survive this if they didn't get to a hospital soon. The amount of energy ripped away from her wouldn't be replaced by a few drinks.

"Coulson, you know as well as I do that this isn't going to end well," Beck heard May speaking to the oldest User as they made their way to the club. "They aren't supposed to know."

"Given the unusual circumstances, I think we can let this one pass," Coulson replied over his shoulder. "You've dealt with Romanoff and Barton before. If they do find out you'll be the one to deal with them."

The User's expression darkened at the thought of dealing with SHIELD's top agents. Beck could understand why she was so worried. He knew all too well what they were like when they were angry. He'd learned quickly not to piss off Clint, especially if Natasha was with them.

It wasn't them he worried about though. All that mattered to him was keeping the promise he had made cycles ago. No matter what happened he would keep her safe and alive. That was the promise he had made to Tron before his training had begun.

* * *

**AN: So there's the next chapter :) The next couple of chapters might jump between points of views, but hopefully that won't happen too much. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter. Big thanks to PrincessKai317, Briannajs-22 and 2theSky for reviewing! You guys are amazing :D**

**End of Line**


	8. Chapter Eight

We both could see crystal clear, That the inevitable end was near, Made our choice, a trial by fire, To battle is the only way we feel... alive, I fell apart, but got back up again - Alibi, 30 Seconds To Mars

* * *

**Chapter Eight**

"What happened to her?" They reached the club in a matter of nanocycles. The Users had fallen behind a bit, so Mara was forced to stay with them until they caught up. Beck and Tron were greeted by the returning members of the team Tron had formed a cycles ago. Zed was the one who asked the question.

"She stabilized the code on the Grid," Tron explained warily.

Zed raised an eyebrow at his response. Beck simply held on to Mira for dear life, hoping that an energy drink really would be enough to revive her. So far she had remained unresponsive for the last few nanocycles. And the circuits on her suit were beginning to fade.

"They're gonna kill me if they find out what happened," he groaned as Tron stepped in beside him. He looked at Tron in surprise when his mentor placed a hand on his shoulder.

"They won't find out," he replied. "We need energy, and fast," he added to the bartender.

The music that was blaring earlier had quieted down upon Tron's arrival. The few programs that were in the club had gaped at Tron in disbelief. Beck had to wonder why they were so shocked to see Tron. By now most programs knew that Tron lived. And that he was on their side.

"They even have dance clubs!" Beck almost jumped when he heard the dark brown-haired User nearly squeal in excitement. "I've never seen anything like this... well, except in video games and such."

The five Users had reached the club, with Mara close behind and glaring at them. Not that Beck couldn't blame her for her annoyance. These Users were beginning to irritate him as well. The only User that seemed to have sense in the group was that Coulson guy.

"This isn't the time," May muttered with a roll of her eyes.

"Here you go." The bartender handed a rather impatient Tron an energy drink.

Beck didn't miss the wary looks the Users sent him. Energy drinks glowed, but they were harmless to both programs and Users. If anything, Beck preferred energy over food any day. Carefully, Tron handed Beck the energy drink. Silently Beck prayed that this worked. He knew that they were already wasting enough precious time that could have saved her.

. . .

The Grid was, to say the least, amazing. All of them stood their gaping at the large building that loomed in front of them. Programs walked in and out of the building, shooting them odd looks. To any other person, they might even appear human. Their emotions were human-like. They depended on energy that in some ways worked as food for humans. About the only difference between programs and humans was the fact that they had circuits glowing on their suits.

"This is awesome," Skye muttered as she watched the programs inside the 'club', as Tron and Beck had called it.

"It shouldn't exist," May added under her breath. Coulson shot her a wary look as she glared at the bartender. He kept raising an eyebrow at the three women. "Why hasn't Fury considered this place as a threat?"

"He did, once," Coulson replied. "But the Black Widow and Hawkeye managed to convince him otherwise."

May didn't even flinch at the mention of SHIELD's top agents. Thankfully she stopped trying to convince herself that this place shouldn't exist. Though Coulson had a feeling she would continue thinking it. So far they hadn't even found the real reason why they were here. And for once, Coulson couldn't help but feel relieved that they hadn't found any super weapons.

Suddenly Mira let out a choking cough as she took the energy drink Beck had offered. Everyone was wary of the strange drink. It glowed an eerie blue color, and something like that could easily be poison. But something had stopped them from interfering.

"Hey..." Her voice was weak, but at least she was still alive.

"Hey." It was odd, seeing a program care so much for a human. Coulson had to keep reminding himself that these two had been through just about everything. In a way they were just like Romanoff and Barton. Well, in a strange way at least. "How are you feeling?"

She looked around a little, eyes widening when she realized that everyone was watching them. "A little tired," she murmured.

"A little tired?" Grant muttered skeptically.

"Glad to see you still have a sense of humor," Tron cut in after shooting Grant a cold look.

And that was enough to make the toughened up agent's face pale. If it wasn't for the situation, that would've made a great photo-shot. But sadly it wasn't possible to take pictures on the Grid.

"We need to get her to the hospital as soon as possible," Coulson finally spoke up, breaking their slightly happy moment.

"I'd rather not," Mira grumbled after struggling to stand. Beck thankfully caught her before she could fall.

"It's going to take more than energy to bring you back to full strength," Simmons explained. "With the code from Cyrus's disk, that's likely what saved you from the energy extraction."

Mira looked at Simmons in disbelief. Everyone else just looked at her as if she was insane. Coulson placed his hands in his pockets as he wondered how much they knew about Cyrus. From the files he'd read, Tron had mentored Cyrus until he went insane. In a way he was like Loki, but thankfully he didn't have a magical staff that could turn people against one another.

What Simmons said made sense. And that was why someone needed to look the girl over; run some tests to make sure that her system wasn't reacting to the code in Cyrus's disk. If that was the case than they were all in trouble.

"May and I will stay here," Coulson explained after realizing that they would need to leave immediately. "Grant, you go with Fitz, Simmons and Skye. And if_ they_ show up, you know what to say."

If she didn't look annoyed before, she was annoyed now. Coulson tried not to smirk at the mention of them. One day they would find out he was alive, if they didn't know already. Knowing Agent Romanoff, she already knew the truth. She was better at hiding her emotions than Clint ever was.

"I'm going with you," Beck suddenly announced. He glanced at Tron, as if seeking his permission.

"Well, this should be fun," Skye murmured as she made her way towards the others. She was done taking in everything at once. But she still looked impressed with what she saw in front of her. "Imagine if our world was like this," she added in a whisper.

"I think I'd rather shoot myself than live here," May replied with a roll of her eyes. "Is the Portal ready?" Hopefully Sam still had contact with them. Otherwise they were in trouble.

"Yep," came Sam's rather blunt response.

Beck helped Mira reach the group, staying far away from the group of programs gathered near the back of the club. If Coulson didn't know any better, he would've thought that Beck was avoiding them. His mask was still on, showing more signs of avoidance.

In a matter of seconds, the brilliant light of the Portal flared up outside the club. Programs flocked around the entrance to watch as the team vanished. The sight would have impressed anyone else. Everything about the Grid was so different from the real world.

"Why did you choose to stay?" Tron's question caught Coulson by surprise. He didn't even notice the security monitor reaching their side.

Out of sheer instinct, May grabbed Tron by the wrist, only to be twisted around and thrown to the floor on her back. Tron grabbed his disk and raised it towards her neck. Coulson couldn't even remember the last time he had seen that kind of panic in May's eyes.

"In case something happens in the real world," Coulson explained. "It's good to have a set of eyes here if someone poses a threat."

Tron eyed them both warily before letting May up. The glare she gave Tron was one that would have sent any other agent running. Tron only shot her a smug look and joined the other programs. May couldn't hurt him even if she wanted to.

This was going to be interesting, to say the least.

* * *

**AN: I will not be updated tomorrow (it being Christmas and all), so here's an early Christmas present. Thought you'd enjoy this chapter, 'specially with Tron kicking May's butt :P Thanks to 2theSky and PrincessKai317 for reviewing! Oh, and have you heard any music from the choir known as Libera? If not, than go and listen to them! Your hearts will melt, I'm warning you :P And currently listening to the Coventry Carol by them XD**

**End of Line**


	9. Chapter Nine

_No more boarding up my windows, So that I can lay low, Nobody's home, No more trying to run away from, Tired of being afraid of, What I can't control, The hardest part I'm always told, Is letting go - Safe and Sound, MercyMe_

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

Have I mentioned how much I _love_ hospitals lately? They're on my list of top ten least favorite things to see in the User world. Why am I keeping a list? I'm not entirely sure myself, but it helps me keep track of the places I should avoid.

Beck was sitting in the room while the nurses went over a list of health issues that were effecting me at the moment. All the while I could barely move as I listened to them speak in low voices. So far they didn't seem overly worried, but they kept shooting me nervous looks every time they stopped whispering. And that wasn't helping the anxiety slowing building up inside me.

"Excuse me ladies, but I think we've got this covered," Simmons said after stepping into the room. The nurses looked at Simmons in surprise just as Beck stood up, in an almost threatening manner.

"The energy readings are different from anything I've ever seen," one of the nurses replied before she was shooed out of the room. "What ever happened to her could end up happening to anyone that gets near."

"I can assure you ma'am that I have everything under control." I had to admit that Simmons made a good actress.

The nurse raised an eyebrow before shaking her head in frustration. Simmons simply looked at her smugly as she stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"Why aren't we at SHIELD's base?" I asked after struggling to find my voice.

Not that I didn't enjoy being stuck at SHIELD's hospital. But I'd take that over being stuck here with sterile white walls surrounding me. And the loud noises coming from outside didn't help. It seemed as though there was a never-ending reign of sick patients coming in and out of the building. Maybe that's what got me nervous.

"I'm afraid that if we did go there... _they_ would find out," Simmons replied. She bit the bottom of her lip while reading the notes the nurses had taken on their clipboards.

I winced at the thought of what they might say to this. True I had been through tougher times, but I had promised not to risk my life like that. And I had broken that promise.

"Sorry," I murmured.

"Why are you apologizing?" Simmons looked at me in surprise.

"We wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for me," I replied shakily. "Maybe if I had thought things through, this wouldn't have happened."

"We've gone through tougher times," Simmons said after putting down the clipboard. "If we put our heads together we'll think of some excuse as to what happened."

"You're alive, and that's all that matters," Beck added reassuringly.

The slightest form of a smile appeared on my lips. Leave it to Beck to make the room even more awkward than it already was. Simmons rubbed the back of her head and looked away, suddenly giving Beck a sheepish look.

"I'll uh... leave you two alone for a bit," she stammered.

By the time she left we were both grinning from ear to ear. I can't even remember the last time I'd smiled like that. But the moment was short-lived when I looked back at Beck.

"So, you wanna explain why you've been avoiding everyone at the garage?" I asked after struggling to sit up.

My shoulders still hurt from the energy drain when I managed to fix the Grid. Hopefully the pain wasn't going to last real long.

Beck looked away, guilt suddenly darkening his expression. I knew that he would feel guilty about what had happened. Tron had already warned us that the Grid had changed since Sam and Quorra started rebuilding it.

"I'm not sure what to say to them," he sighed after sitting down beside my bed. "I'm just... afraid that they might never forgive me for what happened."

"Beck, if they're really your friends, they'll find room for forgiveness." I thought of what Natasha had told me a few weeks ago.

Mara and Zed were probably wondering what had happened to Beck all those cycles ago. I'm sure Able already knew the truth of who Tron's assistant was. Beck still kept up his 'Renegade' act around other programs. Surely by now the others would have figured it out.

"Do you really think so?" Beck looked at me warily after asking the question.

"I know so." For the first time since seeing him on that little screen, he looked relieved. "You'll get through this," I added reassuringly. It was more than relief I saw in his eyes. There was hope, for the first time in a long time.

. . .

Everything she had heard about the Grid was true. It was, amazing. And she had left it too soon. But the intel she had gathered was perfect. Everything she needed was hidden inside the tiny camera that made up her phone. This was something SHIELD couldn't hide.

Too bad Grant was watching her like a hawk. She sat far away from him, legs crossed as she looked out the window. It was raining, and it was colder out than it had been in the past few days. People walking outside wore coats and had their umbrellas up. Skye almost wished she could make a run for it and join them.

_I couldn't fight them even if I needed to_, she thought bitterly. She had zero fighting skills. Sure she could throw a mock-punch here and there, but that was about it. The fight she had with Grant made her look even more pathetic.

"Why do we even need to stay here?" she groaned after getting bored for the umpteenth time.

Maybe it's a good thing Grant was here. Even if he was a stick-in-the-mud like May, he wasn't nearly as bad as her. He had some sense of humor.

"In the likeliness that Agent Romanoff or Barton should find out that their... kid is in a hospital, we need to stay here," Grant explained uneasily.

Skye felt a small grin play along her lips. She'd read a few files on SHIELD's top agents and former assassins. A rough past between the two of them; she found it hard to believe that either of them could raise a kid.

"What happens if they do find out?" Her questions were beginning to irritate Grant. She could see the faintest of veins popping up on his forehead.

"We'll both be screwed out of our minds," he muttered crossly.

"As long as we're quiet about this, they won't find out," Fitz told them after walking into the room.

He'd been following Simmons around all day like a lovesick puppy. Skye found it hard to believe those two could get any work done with the amount of affection shown between them. They weren't your typical run-of-the-mill SHIELD agents. And that's why it was easy to get along with them. She hoped May or Grant's attitude didn't rub off on them eventually.

"I sure hope you're right," she sighed after leaning against her seat.

Although it would be exciting to meet a couple of Avengers. She could imagine they'd be just as frustrated as Grant with all the questions she had prepared for them. But it probably was a good idea to keep them away. The last thing she needed was another May or Grant hunting her down like she was their prey.

. . .

Programs were beginning to leave the building once the rest of the team had left. Coulson and May stayed behind with Tron watching them carefully. His expression was difficult to read. But it was still impressive to think that a character based off of a video game was even real.

"Hi, we haven't formally met," Coulson tried to pick up a conversation, hoping that would lighten the dark mood hanging over them. "I'm Agent Coulson," he explained when Tron eyed him warily.

"I know who you are." Tron folded his arms as he looked between Coulson and a very uneasy looking May. "I was warned that SHIELD would try looking for weapons," he added.

It took Coulson a few seconds to understand what Tron meant by that. Than it dawned on him that Natasha or Clint might have mentioned something about SHIELD's intentions. Looked like Fury wasn't going to get what he wanted.

"I'm just curious about the original Grid," Coulson finally found the words he was searching for. "The one designed by Encom."

That seemed to take Tron by surprise. He gave both Coulson and May wary looks before gesturing towards an open booth. "You may want to sit down for this; it's a long story," he replied.

Stories were exactly what Coulson enjoyed listening to. And for once May didn't bother arguing. Instead she joined him with her shoulders slightly slumped. This was going to be interesting.

* * *

**AN: So yeah... not much happening, aside from Mira finding out why Beck's been avoiding everyone at the garage. Sorry if this chapter was a tad boring, but the last chapter will be posted hopefully soon (if FF doesn't keep crashing on me. Anyone else having problems getting into the login area?). Thanks to 2theSky and PrincessKai317 for reviewing! You guys are awesome :D**

**End of Line**


	10. Chapter Ten

_Neither life nor death could separate us, From the eternal love of our God who saves us, Just hold on to the promises - Promises, Sanctus Real_

* * *

**Chapter Ten**

It felt good to be out of the hospital bed. After spending the last few days in the same room, I was beginning to get stir crazy. It reminded me of how much time I had spent in the safehouse with Tron all those cycles ago. But at least Tron gave me more freedom than these nurses ever did.

Now we were in the waiting room as Grant signed me out. The receptionist was still looking at the large group in disbelief. I wonder how many times Grant was forced to flash his SHIELD badge when nurses or doctors passed by.

"So what now?" I asked as Beck stood beside me. Skye was standing between Fitz and Simmons while Grant finally turned to face me.

"I think we better get our asses out of here before news spreads," he sighed after looking at the phone he'd pulled out of his pocket.

Hm... I guess Fury finally figured out what had happened. Maybe one of the nurses working for this hospital worked for SHIELD. I'm pretty sure if Natasha or Clint had found out about this, they would've strangled Coulson for letting this happen.

"Thank you, for coming with us," I murmured as Beck followed us out of the hospital. "You didn't have to."

"Actually I did." I didn't miss the chagrin in his voice.

I smirked back after realizing what he meant by that. I would have done the same if it were reversed. Of course, I could never wish any harm falling on the ones I cared about.

A van was waiting for us outside the hospital. The SHIELD logo painted on the back was a dead giveaway. I glanced over my shoulder and wondered just how many people had stopped by giving it curious looks.

"Coulson and May are still on the Grid," Grant explained after taking the wheel. Beck and I sat in the back, Fitz sat beside Grant while Simmons and Skye sat in the middle.

"Really? Coulson and May?" I glanced at Beck in surprise.

I couldn't see Agent May lasting five minutes on the Grid. She wasn't the type who liked surprises. And the Grid went beyond anyone's imagination.

"Hopefully they haven't torn the place apart," Beck muttered after leaning against the back of his seat.

Holding back a grin, I imagined that could be a possibility. At least with May being involved with keeping an eye on things. Coulson was probably a lot like Natasha. He could control himself even if what stood before him was the most exciting thing in the world.

I was really glad that I kept my iPod with me at all times. Right now music was the best thing to keep me distracted from what would happen next. And I'm pretty sure Beck was worrying about the same thing.

"**If you gotta start somewhere why not here, If you gotta start sometime why not now, If we gotta start somewhere I say here, If we gotta start sometime I say now, Through the fog there is hope in the distance, From cathedrals to third world missions, Love will fall to the earth like a crashing wave**..."

"What are you listening to?" Beck looked at me curiously as I turned down the volume. I didn't realize I had it up so high.

"TobyMac," I replied after noticing that Skye was watching us out of the corner of her eye. "He has good music," I added with a shrug.

After all, my adoptive parents had been strict about going to church. I could still remember being forced to go to every Sunday morning service. At the time I'd never really appreciated getting up early. But now I wonder what might life would be like had I stayed in the User world.

"**Tonight's the night, For the sinners and the saints, Two worlds collide in a beautiful display, It's all love tonight, When we step across the line, We can sail across the sea, To a city with one king, A city on our knees**..."

Maybe I shouldn't think so much about my past. It only reminded me that they weren't my real parents to begin with. Or that they never bothered telling me that I was adopted. They had their reasons for not telling me the truth. But that didn't make things any better.

. . .

"That's an interesting story," Coulson said once Tron finished sharing his tales of the old days. May was sprawled out on a booth nearby, arms folded as she listened intently to their conversation. After the first few seconds she decided to explore the club and find out more about the way energy drinks worked on the Grid. "Whatever happened to Yori?"

Tron's expression darkened. After hearing what had happened, Coulson couldn't blame Tron for his anger.

"She disappeared during the Purge," he explained warily. "I haven't seen her since."

So many tragedies occurred in such a short amount of time. First Clu had taken over, spreading rumors that Tron had been killed. Than he started the Purge, killing programs known as ISOs, and anyone that stood up for them. Then he started taking over every city he could.

"I'm amazed you've survived all of that," Agent May finally muttered after tossing aside what Coulson thought was her third drink.

"It isn't an easy life, but it's a life," Tron replied.

"So Alan Bradley is your creator." Coulson leaned against the back of his seat.

Now he understood why Tron had looked so familiar. SHIELD had a file on Alan and Kevin Flynn. Both men were brilliant at what they did. That was why SHIELD kept a close eye on their behavior. If they ever decided to hack into government networks, they could make a dangerous enemy.

"Alan 1 is my Creator." Somehow the term 'creator' sounded more important when Tron said it.

"I wanted to thank you, for watching over Mira while she was here," Coulson said once an uncomfortable silence filled the room.

Tron raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I fight for the Users," he replied bluntly. "I failed to protect them once. I'd rather that not happen again." The raw determination in his voice reminded Coulson that he was not human. Even the greatest hero on the Grid made mistakes every now and than.

"We're back." Simmons' cheerful voice filled the room as she followed the others inside.

"Glad to see you're back on your feet," Coulson said after noticing that Mira was with them.

Thankfully Beck's helmet was back on. After hearing Beck's story from Tron, he could understand why Beck was so careful. Living a double life was never easy, especially if you were being hunted down by the ruler of the Grid.

"Everything went smoothly," Grant said before Coulson could ask what had happened.

"I'm just glad the Grid is back to normal." Coulson wasn't sure who had said that. But the relief in their voice was obvious.

"We should probably get going," he announced after standing up.

"It's about time," May muttered crossly.

Judging by the way Mira smirked at May, she was enjoying this. It was definitely time to leave, before things got messy.

. . .

"You're leaving already?" Beck's question made me stare at the ground, unease crawling over me.

We didn't exactly get to spend that much time together on the Grid. Aside from me passing out and Beck worrying over me every nanocycle. I hated knowing what he was thinking. Beck was by far one of the best friends I'd ever made. And as usual I was leaving him behind, again.

"I won't be gone for long," I promised under my breath. The others were already heading outside. Agent Coulson was the only one who stayed behind, watching us curiously. "You have to tell them the truth," I added carefully. "Sooner or later, they'll find out the hard way."

Beck flinched at the mention of telling everyone from the garage the truth. Mara and Zed were still in the club, chatting away about their latest gig in the city. I'm surprised they didn't even notice how close we were.

"Later," he suddenly murmured. "When things settle down."

I tried not to roll my eyes and punched him in the arm playfully. "Be careful, bitbrain."

Before I could say anything else, Beck pulled me in for a hug. "You be careful," he whispered.

If I wasn't smirking before, I tried to hold it back. I knew full well that being careful wasn't a possibility in the User world. Especially if I was part of SHIELD. Any sense of peace I might have felt earlier was thrown out the window the moment I joined SHIELD.

But right now, that didn't matter. Being here with Beck again made my world go around. And I wouldn't want that to change any other way.

. . .

Everything was packed and ready to go by the time we reached the Bus. May was back at her station flying the giant plane while everyone else went back to their jobs. Skye and Grant were busy sparring, Fitz and Simmons were discussing how different the Grid was compared to their world.

I'm amazed these people even managed to get along with each other. Fitz and Simmons may get along with each other, but they certainly didn't enjoy how aggressive Grant was. I had to remind myself that the Avengers hardly got along with each other as well. But somehow they made it work.

"We'll be arriving in a few minutes," May announced over the intercom.

The Bus was headed back for New York City. According to Agent Coulson, my mission was over. I'm not even sure what that meant, but I'm just thankful to be out of this place. Explaining why I was gone for so long wasn't going to be easy.

"You were away on a mission, plain and simple," Coulson told me when I asked what I was supposed to say.

Natasha would see right through that lie if I told her that. Steve and Clint might be easy to fool, but she wasn't.

My shoulders sagged in relief when we landed in the small airport. A few more minutes and I'd be out of this place. I wondered if this was what it would be like for every mission I was sent on.

To my surprise Steve was waiting for us outside when I followed Grant and May out of the Bus. May's expression was passive while Grant just remained strangely quiet. I'm surprised Skye didn't run out and give Steve a big hug. Wasn't she obsessed with super heroes or something?

"Glad to see you're still in one piece," he said once we reached him. "They were both called off to a mission," he added before I asked where Natasha and Clint were.

"That's probably a good thing," I sighed after Grant handed me my bags. "Thanks for the help," I tried adding in a more cheerful tone.

"There's a note in there from Agent C," Grant explained before leaving us alone. "He thought you might want to take a look at it."

It was hard to imagine how tough it was for Coulson to hide from his favorite hero. I'd read a few files on him during my stay in Stark Tower. Apparently he was a fan of Captain America, AKA, Steve Rodgers. And he even had a complete set of Captain America trading cards that were signed by the first Avenger.

"Agent C?" Steve raised an eyebrow as we reached the car. It was a convertible, and a shade of dark green that made it look like an antique.

"When did you learn to drive?" I asked after getting in. From what I gathered he preferred motorcycles over cars any day. It was easier getting through the city.

"I had time," he replied with a shrug. "You didn't answer my first question though," he added accusingly.

I stared at the buildings starting to take over the little greenery in the city. New York was famous for it's skyscrapers. But it did have several planned parks and fields that made up for the lack of forests. I've never seen Central Park before, but it's a goal of mine to pay it a visit when I was free.

"It's complicated," I sighed after realizing there wasn't a better explanation.

Thankfully Steve didn't press me any further. And we reached my apartment in a matter of minutes after stopping for something to eat.

Once we reached my apartment, I thanked him for the ride and got inside. Everything was still intact. None of the windows were open to show signs of an invasion by SHIELD agents. The sofa wasn't clawed to pieces by Rinzler.

I dropped my bags and grabbed the note that Grant had mentioned earlier. To my surprise the letter inside was handwritten. Most notes these days were typed up or sent by e-mail. I made sure the door was locked before I sat down and read the letter.

'_Mira, I wanted to thank you for assisting us in our time of need. I was wondering if you could write a guideline of sorts, a set of rules for new recruits. It would make all of our lives easier if we had one_.

-_Agent C_'

Huh. I never thought that SHIELD would need rules to keep their agents out of trouble. But it made sense when I thought about it. Maybe I would take Coulson's offer. After everything that just happened, it would be nice to take a short break and think of what not to do with SHIELD or the Avengers.

This was going to be interesting, crazy, and maybe even fun. It was definitely something that would keep me busy for the next few days.

* * *

**AN: So that's the ending. I know it's not much of an ending, but it leads to History, which is going to also be a sequel. Now, here's my question to everyone. I've read other guidelines, and some are very hilarious (obviously I won't be able to compare to them), but I wanted to try out my own. What do you think? Should I wrote my own? Big thanks to 2theSky and PrincessKai317 for reviewing! You guys are awesome!**

**XD forgot to add that the lyrics are from the song City On Our Knees by TobyMac :D**

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